Flying Solo

I feel like I am flying solo a lot....at least for the bulk of the day, but nothing quite compares to the actual process of flying across the country with 2 little ones.

Friends, I was truly dreading this trip...and you wouldn't even want to believe who decided to pop in for her monthly visit the morning we left. So, there I was, 4 bags, one double stroller, an almost 3 year old and 6 month old baby. We were a walking circus. Literally.

The first flight went pretty well. I dumped a jar of baby food in the seat pocket, but we managed to keep quiet for the most part. The most difficult for me was juggling all the stuff we had. I had to carry Nora, hold Aidan's hand and get all our bags off and on the plane, set up the stroller, and get the kids inside. It was quite the feat.

Our layover, which dragged on and on  as we became increasingly more delayed, was a nice respite from the confinement, but soon we were all exhausted. During one of our frequent bathroom stops (Aidan's requests to pee were so urgent and sudden on this trip that I was in a panic that he would have an accident), a kind lady asked if I needed any assistance. I replied with, "I"m sure I do, but I don't even know where to begin." We both laughed and she said had been there once. That moment of commiseration was good for my soul.

Then, we boarded our plane for the final flight home, or at least to Charlotte, where we would then drive 2 hours home with our huge suitcase wedged between the kid's car seats. Oh, the joy! This is where we hit a major breakdown. I had managed yet again to carry all the bags and children and get seated, only to find out that we couldn't actually sit in the seats we were assigned and had to move to another row. After everyone had been seated, I got up to begin the move. The most wonderful part about this was not only did Aidan flat out refuse to move, we were in the front row of the plane, so we had an audience. Aidan protested and protested. He even said, "No, you go Momma. I am going to sit here and you can kick me in the back of the seat." (Can you tell what we had been discussing on the previous flight?) So, he threw a fit, a screaming, flailing, you cannot control me and hold Nora at the same time kind of fit. So fun. After that subsided I asked if the lady behind me could hold Nora so I could take Aidan to the restroom. When we got back to our seats, the flight attendant came up to me, and said, "Ma'am, we are waiting on you, could you please sit down?" Ummmm, rude. And then we sat on that ridiculous runway for at least another 30 minutes. (no kidding) During this time, Aidan lost it. He wanted to sit in my lap too. He wanted something to eat and none of my snacks were good enough. He wanted me to hold him and put Nora down somewhere. He was tired. He didn't want to wear his seatbelt. (I had a feeling this would happen because we were way past nap time at this point, and getting closer to dinner after all the delays). The attendant kept coming and asking me if she could do anything..."Not unless you change the rules and actually let me hold him!" I didn't really say that, only thought it.  So, he finally just fell asleep. Which is totally unlike him, but he got so ridiculously crazy that he just conked out. It was wonderful. And, then after a time, he woke up...and it again was a mix of laughing, crying, and altogether crazy behavior until we landed. I have never been so glad to be on the ground before.

So, we survived. It was doable. Oh, and Nora....can you guess that she was absolutely easy going the entire time?..cause she was. And then she screamed bloody murder for most of the car trip home. Mostly because it was past everyone's bedtime and she was hungry, tired, and probably sick of being overlooked.

And really, it only took me like 2 weeks to recover. :)

Kansas Trip

Oh the trip....

Nora was our little late night packing companion.

We left early Monday morning (14th) to drive to Charlotte. As luck would have it, Aidan woke up with a stuffy nose. We arrived in Charlotte by about 8am and left a little after 9. The flights went well. Nora slept the entire way and Aidan was able to watch some of his favorite shows on Daddy's laptop. We were pretty exhausted by the time we got there, but it was so nice to see our family...especially my sister who had just got back from 6 months at YWAM.

 Nora and Aunt Steph

We spent the first week with Seth's family. Unfortunately, Aidan's cold continued and Nora caught it the 2nd night there. She got an ear infection and we ended up visiting our old pediatrician for some good ol' antibiotics. It was a long week of little sleep...but so nice to have family to help out.

The sick babies in their pj's

The first weekend there I went down to Arkansas to surprise my bestie Kara at her baby shower. Steph and I drove down together with Nora and did it all in one day. We also got to visit with some of my old time friends from ECS/childhood days.

Windblown pic, (2 pregnant friends), tons of memories with these girls!

We also got some family pictures taken by jami nato which was a ton of fun and I seriously cannot wait to get them put up at our new place (when we have a new place). :)

The second week was spent with my family. Seth left just a few days into that week and I stayed a whole week longer. It snowed a couple times that week. (crazy!) We were able to have a little birthday celebration for Aidan, have a play-date with a couple friends, and I spent some time working on stuff with our house. I ordered some furniture to stage the house for the next couple of months. It was kinda a drag considering the financial drain this house has been, but we are praying that this will be enough to get it sold by the end of May. Please pray for us if you think about it!

I wish I would have had more time to see more friends, but I felt like my days were so busy and with Nora's sleeping issues, I was pretty exhausted most of the time. I ate up the family time because I knew it would be a long time til we saw each other again and I really do love being with them--even if my sister can now beat me at Dutch Blitz.

Nora with Mita and Papi (Seth's parents)

Snow at the end of March! Kansas weather is so crazy!

 Aidan's new obsession

 Birthday egg hunt

 Fresents! (as Aidan would say)

 Decorating his birthday cupcake

Happy 3 years to Aidan!

 Had to have one of the sweet baby girl!

Mimi (my mom) reading to the kids by the fire (PRECIOUS)

That is our trip in a nutshell. One more post to come on flying solo with the kids....stay tuned if you want some tips on how to have a smooth, tear-free trip across the country with 4 bags, one double stroller, a baby, a toddler, and a layover. (NOT) :)